Space heater



April 12, 1966 J. J. FANNON, JR. ETAL SPACE HEATER 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 29, 1961 I N VENTORfi John J. Fonno n, Jr.

Robert J. Fonnon irraavgk;

April 1966 J. J. FANNON, JR.. ETAL SPACE HEATER 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 29, 1961 INVENTOR5 John J. Fonnon, Jr.

Robe'rt J. Fonnon Gordon B. Moody ATTORNEYS April 1966 J. J. FANNON, JR, ET AL 3,246,121

SPACE HEATER 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Dec. 29, 1961 INVENTOR5' John J, Fonnon,dr. Robert J. Fonnon Gordon B. Moody RNEYS April 1966 J. J. FANNON, JR. ETAL 3,246,121

SPACE HEATER 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Dec. 29, 1961 INVENTORS S r y Y wyflm n n R m a a, 0 HF w m wB A J nm e mbm 00 JRG United States Patent 3,246,121 SPACE HEATER John J. Fannou, Jr. and Robert J. Fannon, Grosse Pointe Park, and Gordon B. Moody, Royal Oak, Mich., assignors to Hupp Corporation, Cleveland, Ohio, a corporation of Virginia Filed Dec. 29, 1961, Ser. No. 163,256

11 Claims. (Cl. 219347) The present invention relates to space heaters and more particularly to improvements in the construction of the housing, reflector, radiant support and cooling structures for electrically powered radiant space heaters.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide an imporved infra-red electric space heater in which the radiant support structure and the adjacent portion of the reflector form a sub-assembly which, as such, can be installed in operative relation within a trough-shaped housing the terminal portions of the side walls of which formthe remainder of the reflector.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a space heater of the type described above in' which the sub-assembly embodies a plurality of parallel radiants in the form ofquartz-type tubular infra-red generating electrically powered heating elements.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an electrically powered space heater of the type described embodying an air circulation arrangement in which air is circulated between the housing and the adjacent face of the sub-assembly to prevent over-heating of the reflector of the sub-assembly and the housing.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a space heater of the type described above in which circulation of cooling air is provided between the radiant sup porting sub-assembly and the housing by an electric motor powered blower which is resiliently suspended upon the housing to isolate blower operation produced vibrations from the radiants and thereby prevent destructive high temperature radiant vibration incident to the circulation of cooling air.

These and other objects of the present invention will become more fully apparent by reference to the appended claims and as the following detailed description proceeds in reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the space heater of the present invention as viewed from below;

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view of the space heater of FIGURE 1 as viewed from above;

FIGURE 3 is a top plan view of the space heater of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is a front elevational view partially in section, being taken substantially along the line 4--4 of a top or base wall '14, initial side wall portions 16 and 18 which are substantially perpendicular to the base wall 14, diverging terminal side wall portions .20 and 22, and end walls 24 and 26. Wall 14 and wall portions 16, 18, 20 and 22 are all parts of a single sheet metal stamping.

End walls'24 and 26 are separate sheet metal stampings secured to the ends of the main stamping. Mounted with- .-in the housing 12 is a. plural radiant and reflectorequipped sub-assembly 28 comprising basically in the illustrated embodiment four elongated radiants in the form of electrically powered quartz-type infra-red generating heating elements 30, 32, 34 and 36, and a reflector 38.

. As will become apparent presently, the sub-assembly 28 is supported within the housing 12 and in spaced relation to the base wall 14 and the side walls 16 and 18 to permit circulation of air therebetween. Circulation of air in this manner is effected by an electric motor powered blower unit 40 mounted on the center of the exterior of the base wall 14 of the housing 12 as is most clearly shown in FIGURE 2.

Electrical power is supplied to the radiants 30, 32, 34 and 36 and to the motor of blower unit 40 by electrical leads located within a rigid electrical conduit 42 comprising a T-fitting 44 fixed at one end to the base wall 14 and opening therethrough, a pipe 46 extending from the fitting 44, a T-fitting 48 connected to the end of pipe 46 and fixed to an opening into the housing of the lower unit 40, a pipe 50 extending from the fitting 48 and an elbow fitting 52 fixed to an opening into the other end of the housing 12 through its wall 14 and connected to the other end of the pipe 50.

The structure of sub-assembly 28 is better illustrated in FIGURES 4 and 6. As is there illustrated, the reflector 38 comprises an elongated sheet metal element 54 having a plurality of parallel longitudinally extending concavities or grooves 55 on its lower face and abutting at its opposite ends reflector end plates 56 and 58. The end plates 56 and 58 are formed with downwardly opening notches 60 into which the ends of radiants 30-36 may be inserted while they are being installed and through which the opposite ends of radiants 38-36 extend in their installed positions as is most clearly shown in FIGURE 4. At its center the sub-assembly 28 is supported in housing 12 by a U-shaped bracket 62 extending across the upper side of element 54 and fixed at its opposite ends to the interior of walls 16 and 18 of housing 12 by screws 64.

At each end of the reflector 38 the sub-assembly 28 includes a terminal carrier plate 66. Plates 66 have horizontal portions 68 extending across the housing 12 between side walls 16 and 18 and having downwardly extending flanges 70 and 72 (FIGURES 4 and 6) at their opposite ends by which they are secured to walls 16 and 18 by screws 74. Plates 66 form the end supports for sub-assembly 28 in housing 12. As is most clearly shown in FIGURE 4, plates 66 have upwardly extending flanges 76 by which they are secured to members 56 and 58 as by welding and upwardly extending flanges 78 at their opposite ends.

The radiants 3tl36 are suspended and electrically and thermally isolated at their opposite ends from the terminal carrier plates 66 by electrical terminals 79. Each terminal 79 comprises upper and lower ceramic insulators 80 and 82, a metal terminal spring clip 84 and a bolt 86 extending through aligned apertures in the base of the clip 84, the ceramic insulator 82, the wall 68 of the member 66, the insulator 80 and threadedly engaged at its upper end by a retaining nut 88 and a lead clip retaining nut 90 between which the terminal clip 92 (FIGURE 6) of the lead wire 94 is clamped. Nut 88 is tightened on bolt 86 to clamp insulators 80 and 82 against plate 66. The apertures in plates 66 through which bolts 86 extend are sufliciently large to preclude contact between bolts 86 and plates 66.

Radiants 30-36 conventionally have stainless steel end ferrules which are received between the arms of clips 84 in electrical pressure contact therewith to complete the electrical connections between leads 94 and radiants 30- 36.

Extending the entire length of housing 12 between the 1 end walls 24 and 26 in adjacent spaced relation to the walls 16 and 18 respectively are a pair of opposed channel-shaped sheet metal members 96 and 98 (FIGURE 6).

Members 96 and 98 are fixed to the central support member 62 and to the end support terminal carrier plates 66 at the ends of the housing 12. The corrugated sheet metal member 54 of the reflector 38 is laterally lightly compressed between and. is supported by the bottom side walls of the channel-shaped members 96 and 98 along its opposite longitudinal edges as indicated at 100 in FIGURE 6. Member 54 is retained in position by the members 66 and the member 62, the upper surfaces of the topmost portion of each of the concavities being in resilient contact therewith, the axis of one of the radiants 30-36 being disposed substantially at the focus of each of the concavities.

The lower ends of the members 96 and 98 are joined at their opposite ends by plates 10*2 fixed thereto by screws 104. Plates 102, the members 68, the reflector end plates 56 and 58 and the housing end plates 26 and 24 cooperate with the end regions of the members 96 and 98 to form chambers 105 enclosing the terminal clips 84 and the ends of the radiants 30-36. Air is permitted to circulate through these chambers 105 through the recesses 60 in the reflector end plates 56 and 58 and the louver openings 106 in the end plates 24 and 26.

As is apparent from the foregoing, the reflector member 54 and the channel-shaped members 96 and 98 co operate with the walls 14, 16 and 18 of the housing 12 to form a generally channel-shaped chamber extending 1ongitudinally of the housing 12, the sides of this channelshaped chamber opening downwardly between the member 96 and side wall 16 and the member 98 and side wall 18 into the interior of housing 12 beneath the sub-assembly 28. Louver openings 110 are formed through the side walls 16 and 18 of the housing 12 and louver openings 112 are formed through the end walls 24 and 26. Louver openings 110 are in fluid communication with the channel-shaped chamber about the sub-assembly 28. Air is introduced into this chamber through an opening (not shown) in the center of the wall 14 of the housing 12 by the blower unit 40.

The blower unit 40 comprises a square housing 114 fixed to the center of the wall 14 and having inlet grills 116 in its sides and its opposite ends as is best shown in FIGURES 4, and 6. The chamber defined by the square housing 114 is closed at its top by a cover-member 118 detachably fixed thereto by screws 120. An electric motor 122, having a blower rotor in the form of a fan 124 fixed to its rotor shaft, is resiliently suspended within the chamber defined by the member 114 from the cover 118 by a plurality of coil springs 126 of the form illustrated in FIGURE 4. By this structure, the vibrations of the motor 122 and its rotor 124 are isolated from the housing 12. It has been found that isolation of the blower motor 122 and its rotor 124 from. the housing 12 upon which the radiants 30-36 are mounted to prevent vibration of the radiants 30-36 when they are operating at high temperature greatly increases the useful life of the radiants.

The motor 122 is connected so that it is operating at all times that power is supplied to the radiants 30-36. When the blower unit 40 is operating, ambient air is drawn in through the inlet grills 116, forced downwardly into the housing 12 above the reflector 38, distributed throughout the channel-shaped chamber to cool the reflector 38, and discharged through the louver openings 110 and between the member 96 and the side wall 16 and the member 98 and the side wall 18 in the same direction as that in which the radiant energy is emitted by the radiants 30-36. By this arrangement it will be noted that cooling air flows downwardly along both the interior and exterior surfaces of the side wall portions 16 and 18 and 20 and 22 of the housing 12. The interior surfaces of the portions 20 and 22 of the side walls of housing 12 are highly polished and form extensions in the form of segments of parabolas which form extensions or continuations of the end segments of the reflector 38. Since these side Wall portions 20 and 22 are cooled by the air circulated on both their interior and exterior, there is no danger of over-heating of the housing 12 as the result of utilization of thisportion of the housing 12 as a reflector. The

radiants 30-36 may be thusly operated at their optimum temperature in the order of 1600 F. This temperature is achieved by formation of reflector 38 so that each of the radiants 30-36 is subjected to direct radiation from at least one other of the radiants 30-36.

As will be noted from FIGURE 6, a protective wire grill 130 is fixed to the bottom of theunit 28 to prevent contact with the radiants 30-36 and to support the radiants 30-36 in the event they should become broken.

From the foregoing it is apparent that the components of sub-assembly 28 can be readily assembled as a unitary sub-assembly and the entire sub-assembly installed as a unit within housing 12. Sub-assembly 28 is readily removable for maintenance and repair purposes. In the event reflector 38 deteriorates in use, it can be readily and economically replaced.

The invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The present embodiment is therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description, and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein.

What is claimed and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. An electric space heater comprising:

(a) a trough-shaped housing having a base wall and depending non-planar side walls with the terminal portions of said side walls forming reflective surfaces,

(b) an elongated electrically powered radiant sub-assembly, said sub-assembly comprising a reflector and at least one electrically powered radiant, said subassembly being detachably suspended in longitudinally extending relation within said housing in adjacently spaced relation to the base wall of the trough thereof, said reflector being of generally troughshaped configuration with the open side facing away from said base wall and said reflector being intermediate said base wall and said radiant with its side Wall edges extending beyond said radiant and being adjacent said terminal portions of said housing side walls, and

(c) means for circulating cooling air between the adjacent surfaces of said sub-assembly and said housing to prevent over-heating of said housing by heat from the radiant of said sub-assembly.

2. The heater defined in claim 1 wherein said radiant is a quartz-type infra-red heating element.

3. The heater defined in claim 1 wherein the reflector of said sub-assembly is provided with:

(a) at least one longitudinally extending concavity in 'the face thereof remote from the base of said housing, said at least one concavity having said at least one radiant longitudinally disposed therein, and highly reflective surface means on the surface of the concavity of said reflector.

4. The heater defined in claim 1 wherein said air circulating means comprises an electric motor powered blower mounted on said housing and having its exhaust port opening into the space between said base wall and said sub-assembly.

5. The heater defined in claim 4 wherein said blower embodies:

(a) a blower housing mounted centrally upon the base wall of said heater housing and having a plurality of air inlet ports through the side walls thereof,

(a) an electric motor resiliently suspended within said housing, and

(c) a blower rotor fixed to the output shaft of said motor for rotation therewith.

6. The heater defined in claim 3 wherein said housing has a substantially fiat base wall, first parallel side wall portions extending substantially perpendicular to said base wall portion and embracing said sub-assembly and wherein said side wall terminal portions diverge outwardly from the ends of said side wall first portions remote from said base wall.

7. The combination defined in claim 6 wherein said housing side wall terminal portions form continuations of said reflector to co-act therewith to form a two-part reflector to direct radiant energy from the radiant of said sub-assembly outwardly from said trough-shaped housing.

8. The combination defined in claim 7 wherein the housing side wall terminal portions are substantially parabolic in form so that radiant energy from the radiant of said sub-assembly is directed in a substantially rectangular beam from said heater.

9. The combination defined in claim 3 wherein said reflector has a plurality of said concavities in parallel relation and wherein an elongated radiant is disposed in alignment with each of said concavities so that each concavity forms a reflector for the associated radiant.

10. The heater defined in claim 11 wherein each of said plurality of radiants is positioned to be exposed to radiation from each adjacent one of said radiants so that the operating temperature of the radiant surface of each of said radiants is substantially higher than that which would result solely from the passage of electrical current therethrough.

11. An infra-red generator comprising:

(a) a radiant,

(b) a reflector for focusing the radiation from said radiant, and

(c) a housing enclosing said reflector on three sides thereof,

(d) means mounted on said housing for discharging an air stream; and

(e) means for directing said discharged air stream over a major portion of the surface of said reflector facing away from said radiant and over the exterior and interior surfaces of said housing, said reflector being so constructed and arranged as to prevent contact between the air stream and said radiant by shielding said radiant from said air discharging means.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,231,750 7/1917 Kuhn et al. 219-347 1,491,736 4/ 1924 Polk. 1,651,385 12/ 1927 Goodrich 219-346 1,686,865 10/ 1928 Klotz 219-349 2,131,484 9/1938 Ringwald 219-377 2,260,803 10/ 1941 Dewar. 2,700,095 1/ 1955 Needham 219-345 X 2,894,166 7/1959 Mohn 219-353 X 3,008,029 11/1961 Davis et al 219-347 X 3,051,820 8/1962 Krichton 219-377 3,141,089 7/1964 Hultgreen 219-352 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,113,357 12/1955 France. 1,119,194 4/ 1956 France.

794,270 4/ 1958 Great Britain.

876,555 9/ 1961 Great Britain.

RICHARD M. WOOD, Primary Examiner. 

1. AN ELECTRIC SPACE HEATER COMPRISING: (A) A TROUGH-SHAPED HOUSING HAVING A BASE WALL AND DEPENDING NON-PLANAR SIDE WALLS WITH THE TERMINAL PORTIONS OF SAID SIDE WALLS FORMING REFLECTIVE SURFACES, (B) ELONGATED ELECTRICALLY POWERED RADIANT SUB-ASSEMBLY, SAID SUB-ASSEMBLY COMPRISING A REFLECTOR AND AT LEAST ONE ELECTRICALLY POWERED RADIANT, SAID SUBASSEMBLY BEING DETACHABLY SUSPENDED IN LONGITUDINALLY EXTENDING RELATION WITHIN SAID HOUSING IN ADJACENTLY SPACED RELATION TO THE BASE WALL OF THE TROUGH THEREOF, SAID REFLECTOR BEING OF GENERALLY TROUGHSHAPED CONFIGURATION WITH THE OPEN SIDE FACING AWAY FROM SAID BASE WALL AND SAID REFLECTOR BEING INTERMEDIATE SAID BASE WALL AND SAID RADIANT WITH ITS SIDE WALL EDGE EXTENDING BEYOND SAID RADIANT AND BEING ADJACENT SAID TERMINAL PORTIONS OF SAID HOUSING SIDE WALLS, AND (C) MEANS FOR CIRCULATING COOLING AIR BETWEEN THE ADJACENT SURFACES OF SAID SUB-ASSEMBLY AND SAID HOUSING TO PREVENT OVER-HEATING OF SAID HOUSING BY HEAT FROM THE RADIANT OF SAID SUB-ASSEMBLY. 